Since the development of RobotWarz has been making pretty good progress, I thought I would unveil what the game is all about.

RobotWarz is an online robot fighting game in an arena-style environment. The best way to describe it would be as a combination of the old 1995 PC game One Must Fall 2097 and the recent Flash game MyBrute. However, we actually borrowed elements and play design ideas from several games including World of Warcraft (respecing) and Fallout 3 (Attribute upgrading).

Only two-and-a-half weeks in, we’re obviously still in the very early stages of development. So far, work has focused mainly on the actual fighting mechanics of the game. It turned out to be much more complicated than originally anticipated as we had to factor in a plethora of different variables such as the physical size of objects for ranging calculations and accuracy attributes of robots in order to determine trajectories.

Summary of the Game

First, let’s keep in mind that this is an online Flash game and not something produced by a multi-million dollar game studio, so don’t go about comparing it to Half-Life or anything ;).

Here’s how the game works:

Players create a free account and then proceed by building their own robot which is highly customizable. They begin by choosing between one of 3 possible robot ‘core’ designs: Android, Industrial, Tank (we need a better name for this one). Each core has a distinctly different look and has different starting attributes and strengths. For example, the Android has a higher Intelligence attribute but lower Armor.

New robots are given 10 Attribute Points (APs) in which they can distribute between 7 different attributes. Players can also use credits, the game’s currency, to purchase weapons and add-on’s for their robot. These choices of customizations not only allows for a unique character, but also provides a strong strategical factor to the game.

Credits can be earned by winning fights and referring other members. Experience points (XP) are earned solely through combat, in both winning and fighting (obviously winning fights will yield more XP).

The actual fights are not controllable by the user but are predetermined based on how the opposing robots are built. Each fight result between the same opposing robots is different since there is still a small element of probability and chance based on various variables that is factored into the game engine.

While many people may be put off by the fact that you cannot directly control the robot, we chose to make this gameplay decision as it instead forces players to make strong decisions on how they build their robot as opposed to how fast they can move their fingers. In that sense, RobotWarz is more of a strategical game than anything else.

Game Features

Here is a very summarized feature list that RobotWarz will have upon launch. More will come in the future:

3 Robot “Cores” to choose from. These can then be customized by each robotic part, colours, textures, etc. Each robot core has its own special bonuses.

20+ Different Weapons and Add-On’s that can be purchased with credits earned from the game and physically added to the robots. (Ex. Laser Gun, Plasma Shield, Laser-Targeting System, etc.)

20+ Special Abilities (available from the in-game store with credits). A special ability is used in lieu of a normal attack with a weapon and costs Capacity (or energy). (Ex Reflect: Reflect portion of the damage, Self-Repair: Repairs portion of the Condition etc.)

Store Credit System that allows players to purchase/upgrade their weapons and add-on’s and special abilities among other things. Players earn credits through winning fights and sending in referrals.

Helper Bots – Players can purchase small ‘Helper Bots" which will aid them in their battles.

Respecing – For those familiar with World of Warcraft, RobotWarz will offer a rebuilding option, which will cost 1 credit and increment by 1 for each time it is used thereafter, which allows users to effectively start from scratch, regaining all of their credits to rebuild their robot. This is similar to how players can "re-spec" their characters in World of Warcraft.

Replays – Players can watch their past battles and share them with friends via a simple link.

Future Features:

Team Play – While not planned for the initial release of the game, this will probably be available in the future, allowing for 2v2 and possibly 3v3 or 4v4 teamplay.

Tournaments – Again, not scheduled for the initial release, tournaments will be done in a single or double elimination ladder-type style with the winners possibly receiving credits and/or actual prizes.

Early Preview

Below is a screenshot and video of a very early preview of RobotWarz. I want to emphasize that this is an extremely early version of the game and isn’t even remotely close to being finished. If I had to guess, I’d say that the game is currently about 6-7% done.

All the graphics are temporary placeholder graphics that are being used until the graphic team is brought in, which should be tomorrow. In fact, the temporary background was Photoshopped from One Must Fall.

While the game is currently playable at a very basic level, it’s nowhere near ready for a public beta version yet. We hope to offer a public playable beta version sometime in December, and the game should probably be ready before 2010.

Here’s a screenshot:

And here’s a short 3-minute video demonstration:

I will probably have another update for you in about a week’s time, and will probably post another updated video. We should also have the real graphics starting to get developed by then, so I may be able to show you something at that time.

What do you think so far? Outrageously disappointed? Optimistic? Undecided?

I will admit, I completely underestimated the cost of developing an online Flash game. In some ways it’s good though, as I see it as making it more difficult for competition to get through (due to the high starting costs).

It may not sound like much, but I plan on simply allowing paid subscribers to have more fights per day (see my response to Ethan below). There may also be a few other advantages such as having a longer game replay history, making the site ad-free (if there are any ads), etc. But mainly just to allow more fights per day.

Sounds like a pretty solid plan to me. From what I can tell of the game so far, the number of turns you get to have are the crux of leveling and accessing better items. As a result, I expect people would be more than happy to fork out a few bucks to give them an edge in that regard.

Perhaps you could also throw in a non-gameplay critical element, like an exclusive design for one of the three types of robot cores per month. It would sweeten the deal and tickle the fancy of people who love collecting things.

I know that this structure doesn’t provide added value at the higher costs in terms of fights per day, but if we allow too many fights per day then some people could level up dramatically faster. Right now, Platinum accounts would already have an 8x advantage over Free Accounts.

Gotcha. I agree with having limits. But personally I wouldn’t pay to just have more fights per day. Maybe you could add a special kind of armor that gives members a little bit more advantage (like runescape does).

I like how you are incorporating stats and bonuses to get people hooked. I do question the decision to not allow users to control their robots during the fight. I have a feeling that was more of budget issue than a personal preference. Good luck on this game Tyler.

I’m actually glad we can’t “control” our robots. It would make it more time consuming for people and therefore less likely for them to return multiple times each day or even on a consistent basis at all.

It’s looking good though, keep it up!

P.S. Another perk for upgrading your membership could be to get certain weapons, upgrades, etc slightly earlier than free accounts. Just a thought.

Why would you be glad you can’t control the robots? I don’t understand people who like games where the preparation is the actual game. Then once the actual action begins, all you can do is watch. Personally I like the action part of the game much more than the planning stage.

It actually looks pretty good for only being in development for a short time.

Really cool your putting in so much thought into attributes and the different ways you can mold your robot. Gives the power back to the user whereas mybrute (No offence luke :P), is just purely random.

I am not really a fan of the game, though I did really enjoy reading the post and reading about the project. Having said that, I have probably spent more time playing an online flash game “mars attacks” than any of the more fancy more expensive xbox 360 games out there, so there is something to be said for the simplicity of some of the simple flash games out there. Given the cost of developing a game, it is not the sort of project I would undertake unless I was a game developer myself. Good luck with the project, I hope it succeeds.

Yeh I noticed it looked like the male reproductive organ too – might wanna address that one Tyler. Btw, the early preview video looks tediously poor. I mean seriously? I like your blog, and I read it often, but I think you’re wayyy off the mark here.

I’m personally interested on the technical aspects. If this game is going to be handling game play that is partially subscription pay based, then the Flash implementation needs to have security in place which has been thought out properly.

It would not make the community happy if someone decoded the Flash to read the ActionScript to see how the Flash behaved or replayed their HTTP sessions to cheat. Both of these can be done with Tamper Data for Firefox or using Sothink SWF Decompiler.

The developer told me that it isn’t coded in such a way to allow for such exploits, but I’d be happy to give you access to the beta version before it’s released to the public to see what you’re able to exploit if you’re up for it.

Be careful dude. There is a tv series called Robot Wars with battling robots.

You could easily get sued or lose your ip. Too much work and money spent to risk something like that. I know guys that lost their domain and IP for a lot less. One guy I know got sued because he made a flash game that was like a board game that is sold in stores.

Tyler that game looks the exact same as MyBrute. Almost your entire game is based on my brute even up to the extra fights/premium package. I would have liked to have seen some variety and not just a cone.

Actually, I did briefly consider porting it to the Wii as a downloadable game in the Wii Store, but due to the way the game is structured, requiring an Internet connection, this most likely wouldn’t fare too well.

Right now the current plan is to release it for the web, and if it fares well, to port it to the iPhone (either for free or else around $5) and Facebook (free).

Progress! I really think that this can be a great niche for you to try out, Tyler. Your love of marketing and gaming converging into one project.

I too am a gamer and marketer, and have always wanted to try to get into this niche, but my wallet won’t let me. Anyway, just wanted to pass on an idea that I would have (will) incorporate into my own project.

While it’s being developed, how about posting on RobotWarz.com a back story, profiles of characters, or even a developing story that will unfold leading up to the official launch of the game? Possibly even commissioning an online graphic novel?

I think creating an intriguing story to go along with the game will only help sell it. Perhaps, include more chapters of the story to go along with subscriptions?

Although it will not appeal to all game players…i like the fact that you have made this more of a simulation game. This will appeal to a specific niche but I think this niche could be very profitable to you. Good luck.